


Brothers of Ba Sing Se

by Nomadicnuisance



Series: Elements in Motion [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Avatar: The Last Airbender References, Gen, Team Voltron Family, Voltron, voltron: legendary defender - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 08:24:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15602310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nomadicnuisance/pseuds/Nomadicnuisance
Summary: Hunk is 15 when he realizes he's an earth bender. Living in the lower ring of Ba Sing Se, he's seen a lot of things. So when a rogue gang wreck his taiyaki stand in pursuit of boy dressed in water tribe clothes, he isn't fazed. Until he realizes. Water tribe. What is someone from the water tribe doing in the middle of the Earth Kingdom in the slums of Ba Sing Se?! Shenanigans ensue.





	Brothers of Ba Sing Se

**Author's Note:**

> This is a small one shot that is a part of a collection of short stories centered around the paladins in the midst of the war with the fire nation. This is clearly an ATLA AU. I can't promise I'll update often, but I hope you enjoy this little story that came to mind that I just had to try and write out.

Hunk is exactly 15 when he realizes he is, in fact, an earth bender, despite all of his past teachers professing otherwise. He was born and raised in the lower ring of Ba Sing Se. He’s seen a lot of things. Terrible things. And somehow he actually managed to keep his head above ground, away from the gangs and crime that seemed to run rampant no matter where you looked. He supposed he had his mother to thank for that. If it wasn’t for her he would have likely succumbed to it years ago, become some underling for some greater man. They were always eyeing him for his size and strength. But his anxiety quickly turned people the other way, from intimidated to outright laughing at his cowardice. No. Hunk was satisfied with keeping his head down, apron on, running the best Taiyaki stand on this side of the lower ring.

It’s still early, the sky is a light clear blue, the sun only having risen about an hour before. There were plenty of people out despite the hour, all heading to their jobs or setting up stalls of their own. It was still fairly quiet, the low thrum of a city coming to life all around him.

Hunk has seen some things, living in the lower ring. So when a boy in Water Tribe blues goes flying past his stall with five other guys tailing after him, effectively knocking over his stand in the process, he isn’t even fazed. He sees them turned down into a nearby alley, their shouting getting further and further away. Grateful that he hadn’t yet set out his wares, he goes to turn up his stand when it fully hits him. There was a Water Tribe boy being chased by a local gang. Water Tribe. Since when has there been anyone but Earth Kingdom citizens in Ba Sing Se?! This could be nothing but trouble. Hunk tries to avoid curiosity out of self-preservation. He detests violence. But he can’t just do nothing either. And he can’t help but wonder just how the boy came to be here either.

He looks back at his stand, then towards at the alley. Back and forth. He looks at the stand for a moment longer, thinking of just how much trouble he’s going to get in, before racing off in the direction the gang took. He knows these passages fairly well, having traveled them so often. He’s hidden in a few of them himself when he was still small enough not to be noticed. So he knows that this particular alley leads to a small closed off courtyard, a dead end. He finds them there, the water tribe boy backed into a corner, standing near a small drain, fists out, not backing down while the gang spat insults and taunted him. Suddenly the leader launched some rocks aimed straight for the head.

‘Oh great,’ hunk thinks, ‘they’re earth benders. We’re both gonna get beat.’

Somehow the boy manages to dodge the first wave, before moving his hands in a strange circular motion. Suddenly water comes gushing out of the nearby drain, striking the leader and two other boys.

Hunk feels the air leave his body as he realizes what he just witnessed, his head pounding like it’s going to implode. He’d never seen a water bender in his life. Even reading about the benders of the water tribe in passing always made them seem almost like something magical and rare, like much like the dragons, long since extinct. Yet there was one right in front of him, losing this fight. The earth benders, getting over their initial shock took things to a new level, shaking the ground and entrapping the boy’s feet in the earth, making him immobile.

Hunk couldn’t just stand there and watch. He had to do something. Anything to make them stop before they actually decided to kill him.

‘I am so gonna regret this,’ he thinks to himself before rushing straight for the group, aiming to tackle them to the ground.

He gets in a few good punches, while the others take time to realize another body was just added to the fight. It becomes apparent that Hunk seriously did not think this through however, when he finds himself right beside the Water Tribe boy, feet also conveniently stuck to the ground, hands encased in earth, restricting his movements.

‘Well crap. This is how we die,’ He thinks to himself.

The boy struggles next to him, clearly trying to break free of his own restraints. He turns to Hunk, yelling, “Dude!! Can’t you earthbend? You’re like a freakin tree! You can take ‘em.”

“Uuuuh, I’m not an earth bender!”

“But you’re from the earth kingdom!” The boy whines.

“Not everyone from the earth kingdom is an earth bender!”

“C’mon man! Do something!!!” He cried, struggling to move.

They were being pelted with rocks again, the delinquents taking their sweet time, laughing, clearly toying with them now. If only he could just get his hands free, he might be able to dislodge his feet.

“Well well well! Looks like big ol Hunk here can’t even save his new friend. Water Tribe scum!” The leader spat.

“We don’t allow Foreigners in our territory you know? You’re lucky we don’t report you to the Dai Li. After all it’s obvious you snuck in here illegally.”

All five snickered. The leader got closer, right in front of the boy, taunting him to his face.

“Hey. It’s no wonder why the water tribe is so weak. Are all the “warriors” such pansies like you-“

Hunk feels it coming before he sees it. The boy spat in the leader’s face before quickly head butting him hard enough to send him back. The guy’s nose was clearly bleeding from the impact, likely broken. Hunk could almost see the steam coming out from him, before he summoned a large bolder from the earth.

Hunk was panicking. They were going to get crushed. He was going to die. They were both going to die. His mother wouldn’t even know what happened to him. He doesn’t want to die. He hasn’t even tried all the food stands in the Lower ring yet!

The rock was now hurling towards them. Another few seconds and they’d be dead. His head was going crazy, buzzing, overwhelming. He’d begun to feel tingly, even more anxious. He began struggling against the rock restraints in earnest. It’s almost as if he could feel them loosening. If only he could just- move—

His eyes are squeezed shut, waiting for the impact. His brain felt muddled and he could faintly hear the boy next to him saying something. Why was it suddenly so dark? His hearing was coming back more and more, the voice next to him getting louder and louder. He didn’t realize what was happened until he opened his eyes.

Rock. A wall of rock right before his eyes, covering both him and the boy. His arms are raised, free from their restraints. The boy was freaking out next to him but he can hardly understand him.

“—ude.. Dude… Yo Giant earthbending guy!!! _SNAP OUT OF IT_!”

Hunk jumped back, realizing that his hands weren’t the only part of him thatwas no longer tied up.

“Hey! Mr. I can’t earth bend! Can you get these off of me??!”

Hunk looked back at his hands, then at the wall, then to the boy. ‘Had he really just did that?!’

‘Oh. Oh god. Oh god oh god. I did that?!’ He felt dizzy, like he was gonna hurl.

Hunk tried to focus on the boy’s hands, clenching his hands before swiping them down. Along came the boy’s restraints. Suddenly the rock wall before them was pushed down, the light suddenly in his eyes.

Clearly this fight wasn’t over. But hunk had decided he’d had enough excitement for one day. He promptly grabbed the boy’s arm, turning and running straight towards a nearby wall. Hunk thrust out his hands, the wall crumbling down allowing them passage into another alleyway. They sprinted through the new opening, running down the new passage, gaining a small amount of ground between themselves and the raging guys behind them. The gang was still pursuing them both, tossing large rocks in their direction, nearly hitting them both. Hunk quickly turned around and hurled a large chunk of earth in their direction before creating another high wall between them and their pursuers. At this rate they would both get caught, and they couldn’t run forever. A few seconds later he spotted a small side passage up ahead. Pulling the boy along, he thrust him into the side passage before backing up and creating a wall between them. ‘Well,’ he thought,  ‘at least one of them would make it.’

Their pursuers had just wrecked their way through the last defense wall, just as Hunk turned around and continued running down the alley. He knew up ahead was a dead end. There would be nowhere else to go but to stand and fight. God Hunk hated fighting.

“I got you now. And when we’re done with you, we’ll find your little friend and get him too.” The leader wheezed, catching his breath as the other four came up behind him, falling into their stances.

The leader raised his hands pulling a large mound of earth into the air. The crazed look in his eyes told Hunk all he needed to know. ‘This is where I die,’ he thinks to himself. He can’t stop his body from shaking. He closed his eyes, crouched down and waited for the blow.

And waited.

And waited.

It had been several seconds now.

After what seemed like a life time, he cautiously opened one eye…

The leader and his gang were no longer right before him, but were being restrained against the alley walls by the Dai Li. There were four agents standing before him, placing the gang in hand cuffs, rock over their mouths to keep them from calling out. The leader was still screeching, trying to break free.

‘When did they even get here,’ Hunk wondered to himself as he watched them take the gang into custody.

Just when he allowed himself a small sigh of relief, one of the Dai Li agents approached him.

Hunk went completely straight, hands clenched to his sides, eyes forward. If there was anything worse than a gang of rogue earth benders, it was a squad of Dai Li agents.

“State your name boy.”

“I-it’s Hunk Sir!”

“Hunk… You’re the son of Tama, right?”

“Yes Sir. I run the Taiyaki stand Sir.”

“Ah yes. We got word from a neighboring stand that there had been a disruption, including unauthorized earth bending.”

“No earth bending here! I mean- not by me! I’m not a bender. I just run the stand and they knocked it over. That’s all that happened! Yep!”

“There were reports of a water bender as well. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that would you…”

Hunk could feel himself starting to sweat as the Dai Li looked straight into his eyes, as if he could see inside his own head.

“Nope! No water benders here! Never seen one in my life!”

The Dai Li continued to stare profusely at him before backing away slowly. He nodded once, before turning back to the other agents. They continued to escort them out of the alley before turning over the earth, quickly disappearing as suddenly as they came.

Hunk breathed a gigantic sigh of relief. This is the last time he ever decides that curiosity is worth it. He began walking back out of the alley, stopping once to empty his stomach, feeling sick now that the adrenaline was leaving his body. He continued on past a large wall of bended rock before he realized what he forgot! He quickly broke through the wall, only to find the small passage empty.

Hunk panicked and goes to call out for him before he realized he didn’t even know the boy’s name.  He didn’t know where the boy might of gone, or how he even escaped. For a second he went ice cold, wondering if the Dai Li had discovered the boy after all and were merely testing Hunk’s loyalty to the kingdom. But he shakes that thought away. The Dai Li would have taken him too if that were the case. Somehow, they had believed him the first time.

Hunk could feel exhaustion setting deep into his bones. It was still only mid morning but it felt like the whole day had passed him by. His mother would forgive him for coming home early, so long as he made up for it tomorrow. Hunk made his way back home, through the opening in the wall that the gang never bothered to cover back up. He arrived minutes later, climbing the stairs to the apartment. He shuffled straight to his room, side stepping his mother in the kitchen, forgoing any explanation and promptly fell into bed.

It’s long past dusk when he finally wakes. He realized he was absolutely parched and his body felt like he was trampled by a giant elephant mandrill. Or several. He slowly made his way to the kitchen, his body aching. He went to get a glass of water, humming quietly under his breath as he goes past the balcony door, only to realize there was another face staring directly at him from the window. Hunk blinks once. Twice. Then promptly squeaks and scuttles back several feet. There’s a boy, on his balcony, in the middle of the night, pounding on the glass.

Hunk quickly recovered and unlocked the balcony door.

“Man it’s about time! I’ve been up here for an hour now!!” The boy exclaimed.

“I looked for you. You disappeared!” He shot back.

“Well yeah. I climbed onto a roof. I didn’t want to get caught! And dude! When you earth bender that huge wall?! It was so cool! Why did you lie that time? I thought we were dead!”

Forgetting how incredibly think the walls were, Hunk heard his mother shift in the other room, before turning and shushing his new guest. “My mom is sleeping. We can’t talk here! Let’s go to my room.”

“Oh. Sorry.” He apologized, before following Hunk to the other side of the apartment.

 boy shuffled behind him to his room as Hunk quietly closed the door behind him. The boy jumped on his bed before leaning against the wall. Hunk hesitantly sat beside him, before offering his hand.

“My name is Hunk. I work our Taiyaki stand out front.”

“The name’s Lance. Southern watertribe!”

“Oh cool! I’ve never met a water bender before!”

“Oh yeah!” Lance puffed out his chest. “Greatest warrior in our tribe.”

“Uh huh. So why are you here then?”

Hunk didn’t think it was possible for someone to lose color so fast. He quickly realized that maybe that wasn’t the best question to ask.

Lance fidgets, his hands clasping together in front of him. He swallows.

“Uhhh. I don’t… the war… Y’know…”

“War?” Hunk was confused. “What war? There is no war in Ba Sing Se.”

Hunk looks at Lance whose eyes keep getting wider and wider.

“What do you mean you haven’t heard of it? It’s been happening all across the world, how could you not notice?!” Lance screeched, his voice getting louder and louder.

Hunk quickly cupped his hands over lance’s mouth. “Woah! Hey man! Shhh. My mom is asleep remember? This is the first heard of it.”

Lance pushed Hunk’s hands away, clearly appalled by the revelation.

“Clearly you’ve been living under a rock then…”

Lance’s mind was buzzing, filled with so many questions. How could Hunk not know about the war? Did anyone in Ba Sing Se know? And what about his bending?!

“Wait! Why did you lie when you said you weren’t an earth bender?”

“Because I’m not! Or at least. I wasn’t. Today… today was the first day. All my teachers said I would never be a bender.” Honestly Hunk was still having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that he could in fact earth bend.

“Yeah well, they were clearly stupid. That was the coolest earth bending I’ve ever seen!”

“Thanks… Hunk shifted slightly, still feeling uncomfortable at the thought of his new powers. He was still tired, and he hadn’t eaten since breakfast this morning. Beside him he hears Lance’s stomach grumble. Making his decision he stands up, stretching before turning back to Lance.

“Hey. Do you have a place to stay tonight? If not you can stay here. I think we have some old blankets. I can make us some food. Tomorrow we can find you some different clothes. The last thing we need is for the Dai Li to catch on that you’re here. And worse that I lied to them.”

Lance smiled wide and pumped his fist in the air.

“Hell yeah! I’m down. And um… Thanks. You know. For helping me. And letting me stay.”

Hunk turned back at him, smiling.

“Of course. It’s what friends do! Now let’s see what we can whip up… Does bao sound good to you?”

Lance nods enthusiastically.

“I have no idea what that is but it sounds amazing!”

They spent the rest of the night talking until dawn. They talked about the South Pole, about Ba Sing Se, about the rumors of the avatar and the war beyond the city.

The next morning Hunk begged his mother to let Lance stay after learning that he had no other family in the city. His mother took pity on him and readily agreed, desiring an extra hand around the stall. They end up running the stand together each day, bantering, learning, waiting for something new to come from beyond the walls.

Hunk is 15 when he first realizes he’s an earth bender. He is also 15 when he gains a brother. With Lance in his life, his days begin to feel so much brighter. And yet, there was something on the wind, he could sense it. The world was changing. And they would change alongside it. After all, the Avatar had returned.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this idea come to life, and I hope to write more of it in the future. I apologize for any grammatical and spelling mistakes. I have a hard time keeping up with tenses and no editor besides myself. Even so, thank you for your support!


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